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Sad Lovers and Giants — Imagination
Album: Feeding The Flame
Avg rating:
7

Your rating:
Total ratings: 1936









Released: 1983
Length: 6:11
Plays (last 30 days): 5
Inside my own inner space
There's not a soul in the whole place to see or ask me why
And with my senses in shreds
There I go to pick up the loose threads
Away from your hungry eyes

And in that infinite place
You'll see a smile on my blank face
Because you can't get there
It's not just being alone
It's more like a view that I've half known
From hills but I don't know where

Imagination
Living mental isolation
Imagination
Imagination
Far from your contamination
Drifting in my inner space
Imagination

And when I look outside
There's a world with nowhere to hide from the cold reality
I've chased innumerable friends
Filled my life with innumerable trends
But it didn't make me see

Imagination
Living mental isolation
Imagination
Imagination
Far from your contamination
Drifting in my inner space
Imagination

But in the depth of a dream
Where the grass is always so green
And the sky is always blue
I'm escaping silently
I'm rejecting violently
This world for something new

Imagination
Living mental isolation
Imagination
Imagination
Far from your contamination
Drifting in my inner space
Imagination
Comments (137)add comment
 Jelani wrote:

The intro reminds me of 'Dear Prudence' by the Beatles.



The initial guitar reminds me of U2's Electric Co
Imagination, copulation....
RP knocking it out of the park tonight.
Yawn...like listening to a singer singing a cake recipe...
Then throw in a dash of jangley gitar!
 iloveradio wrote:

A lot if the comments seem to be vices and virtues of the 70s/80s. For me RP is the FM radio station that came into itself in the 70s all over the country.  That was the golden age of FM radio. I started RP 2003 and it has gotten better with outstanding audio quality and usually, 




Yes! RP is from a bygone era called Freeform FM Radio.
I love this band! Oddly I had never heard of them, even though I have been a music fan since the early eighties. I became aware of Sad Lovers & Giants only a year or so ago when my 18 year old daughter introduced me to their music. I still have no idea how they escaped me all these years
Am I allowed to say that I hear bits of U2 and Furniture in here? Great track.
Timeless groove!
Excellent! would definitely like to hear more from this group
 iloveradio wrote:

A lot if the comments seem to be vices and virtues of the 70s/80s. For me RP is the FM radio station that came into itself in the 70s all over the country.  That was the golden age of FM radio. I started RP 2003 and it has gotten better with outstanding audio quality and usually, 


have to add: quality reception even with 3/4G almost every where available.
A lot if the comments seem to be vices and virtues of the 70s/80s. For me RP is the FM radio station that came into itself in the 70s all over the country.  That was the golden age of FM radio. I started RP 2003 and it has gotten better with outstanding audio quality and usually, 
 waynemcnee8 wrote:
Just noting that Crowded House was not Split Enz. Yes there were band members which were in both but very different bands with very different sounds….says the Kiwi.



 molson wrote:

I am 54 and every generation has some great gems and some not so much. The 80's gave us so many incredible bands such as U2, Elvis Costello, Talk Talk, Icehouse, Crowded House (Split Enz), Madonna (hate her or love her), Roxy Music, The Cars, Duran Duran, Tears For Fears, The Cure, The Church, Depeche Mode, INXS, The Pretenders and MJ of course, and the list goes on and on. Nobody can call the 80's bad musically, unless of course you got stuck in the 70's.

-Molson 



When this started - i was thinking ' another cover of Dear Prudence'   turns out better than that
i have to say, this is growing on me. i missed this one in the 80s which i find completely strange since i was tied to my radio in jr high/high school - music was everything. but it definitely has that distinct 80s feel i recall well.
Somehow I have 100% missed this band over the last 40 years. I didn't even recognize the name. How this happened I have no idea, because I love the Smiths, the Cure, Echo & the Bunnymen etc. and these guys remind me of them. A definite 80's sound. It wasn't until recently I was introduced to them by my 18 year old daughter (she has really cool taste in music). I have been listening to their other stuff and I really like what I hear!
excellent song! Would like to hear RP play more from this band. 
So here’s the thing: Whenever you compare something to another thing you are lacking the name of this fucking brilliant song…
 spinmeister wrote:


It sounds more like Joy Division to me.


that's what i was thinking.
 SpencerAR wrote:

The early guitar play of this song reminds me of "Be Good Johnny" by Men At Work.



Thank you for saying what I was just about to post! :)
 This is when 'indie bands' were proper indie. Had their own separate chart for independent labels. Much great music that never bothered the pop charts, and some that did. Not to be confused with the generic pap that's called indie nowadays. (said a wise oldish fart ) 
What an excellent way to start a song - great intro :)
A time when digital tech was more and more available to the end user. It changed our world!
sounds a lot like Ultravox and the Police
 treesharon wrote:


The upsetting thing that I have learned now, is that most of the bands you listed (likely all), signed a deal with the dark side which means Freemasons.  Makes me sad that I supported their satanic religion.



Whut?
Wow, the very 1st time i could listen to this epic track from SLAG on a regular stream!
Thank you so much, you made my day!
I hear some flock of seagulls here, but nicely done.
 molson wrote:

I am 54 and every generation has some great gems and some not so much. The 80's gave us so many incredible bands such as U2, Elvis Costello, Talk Talk, Icehouse, Crowded House (Split Enz), Madonna (hate her or love her), Roxy Music, The Cars, Duran Duran, Tears For Fears, The Cure, The Church, Depeche Mode, INXS, The Pretenders and MJ of course, and the list goes on and on. Nobody can call the 80's bad musically, unless of course you got stuck in the 70's.

-Molson 



The upsetting thing that I have learned now, is that most of the bands you listed (likely all), signed a deal with the dark side which means Freemasons.  Makes me sad that I supported their satanic religion.
 Stetsonman wrote:

the cure want their sound back



It sounds more like Joy Division to me.
 DrLex wrote:

This must be the only radio station where you can hear a song you have never heard before, find it pretty good, and then discover it is already 29 years old.



And 10 years later this is still true 
 fk14 wrote:

I thought this was a song by Icicle Works that I'd never heard before.  Good one.



Same Here!
from the first notes I thought it was Aplinestars Burning Up. Only slightly disappointed
 coloradojohn wrote:

I always love hearing this -- its wildly frenetic beat reminds me of U2 (Stories for Boys; Electric Co.), Men at Work (Be good, be good...), English Beat (Mirror in the Bathroom), and I love how they take that amazingly crisp guitar, fluid bass, stellar drumming, and quirky, impassioned vocals to the next level and weave it into a magic spell!




I hear the similarity to U2/Electric Co. - some Flock of Seagulls too. I like it.
 pvg44 wrote:

I'm not prone to sweeping generalizations, but anyone 60 or over who makes broad generalizations about entire decades that don't fit their personal tastes is full of crap.


Don't think the age restriction is necessary to be honest.
 molson wrote:

I am 54 and every generation has some great gems and some not so much. The 80's gave us so many incredible bands such as U2, Elvis Costello, Talk Talk, Icehouse, Crowded House (Split Enz), Madonna (hate her or love her), Roxy Music, The Cars, Duran Duran, Tears For Fears, The Cure, The Church, Depeche Mode, INXS, The Pretenders and MJ of course, and the list goes on and on. Nobody can call the 80's bad musically, unless of course you got stuck in the 70's.

-Molson 



This comment has aged well 🤟
I thought this was a song by Icicle Works that I'd never heard before.  Good one.
I always love hearing this -- its wildly frenetic guitar-beat and spacey atmosphere reminds me of very early U2 (Stories for Boys; Electric Co.), Men at Work (Be good, be good...), English Beat (Mirror in the Bathroom), and I love how they take the amazing guitar, fluid bass, stellar drumming, and quirky, impassioned Smiths-style vocals to the next level and weave it into a killer magic spell!
Love that modern rock/new wave era!!! :-)
Still a strong song today, almost 40 years later!
“Be good be good, be good be good....Johnny” ~ Men At Work. 
 DrLex wrote:
This must be the only radio station where you can hear a song you have never heard before, find it pretty good, and then discover it is already 29 years old.
 
How true! There's more than one song on an album or a CD.
 molson wrote:
I am 54 and every generation has some great gems and some not so much. The 80's gave us so many incredible bands such as U2, Elvis Costello, Talk Talk, Icehouse, Crowded House (Split Enz), Madonna (hate her or love her), Roxy Music, The Cars, Duran Duran, Tears For Fears, The Cure, The Church, Depeche Mode, INXS, The Pretenders and MJ of course, and the list goes on and on. Nobody can call the 80's bad musically, unless of course you got stuck in the 70's.

-Molson 
 

Psychedelic Furs, Echo & the Bunnymen, Joy Division, New Order, Blondie, Talking Heads, Bauhaus, Devo. Bowie, Joe Jackson, Graham Parker, Dream Syndicate, Sex Pistols, The Clash, ......etc....etc....etc...................
 DrLex wrote:
This must be the only radio station where you can hear a song you have never heard before, find it pretty good, and then discover it is already 29 years old.
 
Ha!  I just thought the exact same thing.  But now for me it's over 37 years old.  Geez!  LLRP!!
Flock Of Seagulls, anyone?
the cure want their sound back
Song of the day, simple l.o.v.e.d. it and never heard about that band before, thanks RP.
So Age of Covid relevant.
Not really sure why I love this. I just do!!!!!!!!
The intro reminds me of 'Dear Prudence' by the Beatles.
This is sooo 1983, love it!
 islander wrote:
If the smiths and joy division had a baby...
 

And Echo & The Bunnymen ... not just another drop in the ocean ... 
 SpencerAR wrote:
The early guitar play of this song reminds me of "Be Good Johnny" by Men At Work.
 
I was actually hearing instrumentally and vocally, Flick of Seagulls. Top notch tune, any of the mentioned AND this tune!!
Very interesting, unique and good guitar here
Yes sir I likes it
 pvg44 wrote:

I'm not prone to sweeping generalizations, but anyone 60 or over who makes broad generalizations about entire decades that don't fit their personal tastes is full of crap.
 
AGREED! And I'm 60!
The early guitar play of this song reminds me of "Be Good Johnny" by Men At Work.
If the smiths and joy division had a baby...
Somehow, I totally missed this band. Thanks again RP. Love this!
It's like a distorted post-modern interpretation of railroad blues.

Movement through mountains, next to roaring river, even going through tunnels.
 molson wrote:
I am 54 and every generation has some great gems and some not so much. The 80's gave us so many incredible bands such as U2, Elvis Costello, Talk Talk, Icehouse, Crowded House (Split Enz), Madonna (hate her or love her), Roxy Music, The Cars, Duran Duran, Tears For Fears, The Cure, The Church, Depeche Mode, INXS, The Pretenders and MJ of course, and the list goes on and on. Nobody can call the 80's bad musically, unless of course you got stuck in the 70's.

-Molson 
 

Stuck in the 70s? 

U2 (76), The Cure (78), Roxy Music, Elvis Costello, The Cars (76), and the Pretenders (78) are all products of the 70's.  Roxy and Elvis began their careers in 1970 proper.  Even Madonna started out in the late 70's.  ...And MJ (of course) is a product of the 1960's and, most certainly, rose to clear prominence in the 70's
 Zep wrote:
Has a great 80s vibe. You know, the 80s were about more than Duran Duran and Culture Club.
 

The first extended guitar riff is screaming "Men at Work" to me.  
Ooo, someone had too much coffee!
Has a great 80s vibe. You know, the 80s were about more than Duran Duran and Culture Club.
 hayduke2 wrote:

cool tune too      I'll emoji it   {#Wink}Yeah I know what you mean.
 

 Stephen_Phillips wrote:
My comment is neither about who this sounds like or because of the decade but rather about the name of the band.

I expect it would not be so cool if they decided to call themselves the inverse "Happy Lovers & Dwarfs".

I can't explain why but sadness and melancholy seem to be preferable to happiness. 

Also Giants seems to be preferable to Dwarfs.

Do people subconsciously prefer sadness and giants to happiness and dwarfs?

I am sure some of the learned philosophers on this forum have the answer...
 
I think Giants are more mythical, hence the impression we 'like' them more, and of course, some folks view being a dwarf as a disability.   And maybe people understand that without sadness, happiness doesn't exist.....and I went +1 to 7 on hearing this one today...LLRP and short, tall, happy and sad people!!
"The small cafe in Ricksmansworth " ( Douglas Adams) is the Mill End Caff
Great band, very talented with lot of great songs. Like to hear -In Flux here on RP.
Are you 59 or under or are you full of crap? pvg44 wrote:

I'm not prone to sweeping generalizations, but anyone 60 or over who makes broad generalizations about entire decades that don't fit their personal tastes is full of crap.
 

 Stephen_Phillips wrote:
My comment is neither about who this sounds like or because of the decade but rather about the name of the band.

I expect it would not be so cool if they decided to call themselves the inverse "Happy Lovers & Dwarfs".

I can't explain why but sadness and melancholy seem to be preferable to happiness. 

Also Giants seems to be preferable to Dwarfs.

Do people subconsciously prefer sadness and giants to happiness and dwarfs?

I am sure some of the learned philosophers on this forum have the answer...
 

Hmmm...
They Might be Giants...
The Pursuit of Happiness

And of course...
Stonehenge
on low volume, beginning sounded like "The Electric Co" by U2. 
Wow, is this the new Icicle Works album?

Kidding of course.  Man, I was a DJ in the 80s and never heard of this band.  Me likey.
 GoodKarm wrote:
wow... at first, i thought it was going to be a LIVE version of  :  "Be good, be good... Be good be good be good ...   ... Johny"    Men AtWork vibe came to me.

still... I like this. 

me and my imaginations!  Love you RP for keeping me keen and sometimes guessing!  123K
 
Yes! Definitely has that vibe at the beginning...thanks for pinning that down for me.
amazing  <3
wow... at first, i thought it was going to be a LIVE version of  :  "Be good, be good... Be good be good be good ...   ... Johny"    Men AtWork vibe came to me.

still... I like this. 

me and my imaginations!  Love you RP for keeping me keen and sometimes guessing!  123K
Almost sounds like Modern English. Mixed with some Cure. And Alphaville.
I like it! Not sure why I'd never heard these guys.
 molson wrote:
I am 54 and every generation has some great gems and some not so much. The 80's gave us so many incredible bands such as U2, Elvis Costello, Talk Talk, Icehouse, Crowded House (Split Enz), Madonna (hate her or love her), Roxy Music, The Cars, Duran Duran, Tears For Fears, The Cure, The Church, Depeche Mode, INXS, The Pretenders and MJ of course, and the list goes on and on. Nobody can call the 80's bad musically, unless of course you got stuck in the 70's.

-Molson 
 
Nice surface scratch.
My comment is neither about who this sounds like or because of the decade but rather about the name of the band.

I expect it would not be so cool if they decided to call themselves the inverse "Happy Lovers & Dwarfs".

I can't explain why but sadness and melancholy seem to be preferable to happiness. 

Also Giants seems to be preferable to Dwarfs.

Do people subconsciously prefer sadness and giants to happiness and dwarfs?

I am sure some of the learned philosophers on this forum have the answer...
Song Sucks.
 averybadcat wrote:
Definite drivingfast music
 

Worked well sitting still in my room! Easy 8
This entire comments stream is very amusing. Count me among the “never heard of them” crowd. But this 1983 track seems like a Rorschach test, since people hear (in no particular order) Flock of Seagulls, The Cure, U2, The Chameleons, Men at Work, The Cult, Echo & the Bunnymen. Even allowing for the stylistic changes/evolution for these bands, I get most of the connections, yet they’re all kinda different. [Then there’s all the tired “My decade’s music is better than your decade” posts.]
 vanmas wrote:

The whole song sounds like that... Is this a cover?
 
It's just the intro that sounds very similar - same production sound; different chord progression by the way.  The rest of this song sounds very little like U2's tune - different chords, different melodies, different tempos...
 Queue wrote:

My thoughts exactly.  This could fit in with the Boy album.
 

Actually this is very The Cure, early <1984 period. Can't hear anything U2 related.
You got to love the post-punk bass and the synths. Pure British genius!
 kaleb wrote:
For so much of the guitar riffs I kept expecting "Be Good Be Good..." from Men at Work

 
{#Yes}
 kevinc wrote:
The guitar reminds me of early U2.  Oh wait this is from 1983.  They are copying Edge.  Oh well, it's not like Edge didn't steal a bit from Gilmour's work on some of the Wall tracks, though Edge really made it his own thing, this really sounds like Electric Co.

 
My thoughts exactly.  This could fit in with the Boy album.
I really like this amazing song! It has everything I love about groups like Split Enz, Secret Machines, Echo & The .., Lightning Seeds...
Andy Summers on guitar and Sting on bass?
 DrLex wrote:
This must be the only radio station where you can hear a song you have never heard before, find it pretty good, and then discover it is already 29 years old.

 
cool tune too      I'll emoji it   {#Wink}
 GawgaBoy wrote:
I'm 60 and in my opinion the 80's has to have been the poorest decade musically... this song is no exception to that opinion.  It had no "Imagination" then, nor any now, just a lot of obnoxious repetition.

 
I'm not prone to sweeping generalizations, but anyone 60 or over who makes broad generalizations about entire decades that don't fit their personal tastes is full of crap.
 Jelani wrote:
I thought this was Flock of Seagulls when it started.

 
me too
 
I thought this was Flock of Seagulls when it started.
(oops. seems I made a similar comment a few years ago...at least I'm consistent. :-)  )
 kaleb wrote:
For so much of the guitar riffs I kept expecting "Be Good Be Good..." from Men at Work

 
I was about to type this exact comment, and saw you beat me to the punch. Agreed!
 Sasha2001 wrote:
...The "80s were a dead decade" is as tired a cliché as hearing Hotel California on FM classic rock radio. It was a far more rich and diverse music decade than any other up until that point. Perhaps it's our collective hindsight of hearing "Thriller" a million times that leads us to cast aside the decade that brought us Prince, Husker Du, Crowded House, The Replacements, and New Order. Or, maybe MTV made us forget that music was still an art and not a commodity.
 
I think a lot of the bad memories most detractors of 1980s music have is because of the saturation from MTV, and some may also just be stuck in the '70s or '60s, as noted earlier.
 molson wrote:
I am 54 and every generation has some great gems and some not so much. The 80's gave us so many incredible bands such as U2, Elvis Costello, Talk Talk, Icehouse, Crowded House (Split Enz), Madonna (hate her or love her), Roxy Music, The Cars, Duran Duran, Tears For Fears, The Cure, The Church, Depeche Mode, INXS, The Pretenders and MJ of course, and the list goes on and on. Nobody can call the 80's bad musically, unless of course you got stuck in the 70's.

-Molson 

 
Totally agree!
I am 54 and every generation has some great gems and some not so much. The 80's gave us so many incredible bands such as U2, Elvis Costello, Talk Talk, Icehouse, Crowded House (Split Enz), Madonna (hate her or love her), Roxy Music, The Cars, Duran Duran, Tears For Fears, The Cure, The Church, Depeche Mode, INXS, The Pretenders and MJ of course, and the list goes on and on. Nobody can call the 80's bad musically, unless of course you got stuck in the 70's.

-Molson 
{#Music}
 GawgaBoy wrote:
I'm 60 and in my opinion the 80's has to have been the poorest decade musically... this song is no exception to that opinion.  It had no "Imagination" then, nor any now, just a lot of obnoxious repetition.

 
Oh no sir, the 70s were no doubt much better,  what with every musical act trying to be either Led Zeppelin or The Eagles. In fact,  so many talented musicians were tired of 70s tropes that they spawned an entire generation of music designed to be an alternative to everything that was stale about the corporate - controlled industry up until that point.  I could quibble and name all those great British and American bands but you'll likely hear them played on RP if you give it a chance. Maybe we're all a little sick of hearing the pop music generated during the 80s, but even the pop greats from that decade are as great as any. 

The "80s were a dead decade" is as tired a cliché as hearing Hotel California on FM classic rock radio. It was a far more rich and diverse music decade than any other up until that point. Perhaps it's our collective hindsight of hearing "Thriller" a million times that leads us to cast aside the decade that brought us Prince, Husker Du, Crowded House, The Replacements, and New Order. Or, maybe MTV made us forget that music was still an art and not a commodity.
Tuneful but a bit monotonous. 
 Proclivities wrote:

A lot of bands sometimes employed that sort of guitar sound, even in the '70s, especially the so-called "post-punk" bands like Echo & The Bunnymen, The Durutti Column, Teardrop Explodes, etc.

 
which, I believe originally came from people like John Martin using wem copycats before digital and analogue delays
.


I'm 60 and in my opinion the 80's has to have been the poorest decade musically... this song is no exception to that opinion.  It had no "Imagination" then, nor any now, just a lot of obnoxious repetition.
I was a teenager in the 80's, and a fan of many musical genre of the time.  Never heard of these guys, though.  It was good enough to stop in and comment (and rate it "quite likeable")
like it! thanks for dropping this in.
Definite drivingfast music
Wow, this can really catch and hold the ear from another room...want to hear it again already!  Has a frenetic, jumpy rhythm and wildly contagious buzz!  Very much full of that 80s feeling, like so many bands of that era; interesting textures to hear again after all this time...
 kevinc wrote:
The guitar reminds me of early U2.  Oh wait this is from 1983.  They are copying Edge.  Oh well, it's not like Edge didn't steal a bit from Gilmour's work on some of the Wall tracks, though Edge really made it his own thing, this really sounds like Electric Co.

 
A lot of bands sometimes employed that sort of guitar sound, even in the '70s, especially the so-called "post-punk" bands like Echo & The Bunnymen, The Durutti Column, Teardrop Explodes, etc.
 kevinc wrote:
The guitar reminds me of early U2.  Oh wait this is from 1983.  They are copying Edge.  Oh well, it's not like Edge didn't steal a bit from Gilmour's work on some of the Wall tracks, though Edge really made it his own thing, this really sounds like Electric Co.

 
Perfect comparisons.... Sounds dated but in a really cool way!
I thought this was a Flock of Seagulls tune I'd never heard.
The guitar reminds me of early U2.  Oh wait this is from 1983.  They are copying Edge.  Oh well, it's not like Edge didn't steal a bit from Gilmour's work on some of the Wall tracks, though Edge really made it his own thing, this really sounds like Electric Co.
Still waiting to hear Terror on RP.
 asilbuch wrote:
How Flock of Seagulls...
 
Good call - I would say them and The Chameleons. That was the other band I couldn't place!
 asilbuch wrote:
How Flock of Seagulls...
 
This post made me go to straight to YouTube and crank up Space Age Love Song.
 ankhrman wrote:
 DrLex wrote:
This must be the only radio station where you can hear a song you have never heard before, find it pretty good, and then discover it is already 29 years old.

Exactly what just happened to me. Radio Paradise FTW
 
...and me one year later {#Dancingbanana}
 aspicer wrote:
Never heard of them but I really like!  Of course it is very 80s it was the 80s! Does sound a lot like The Chameleons. 
 
i never have either, and i paid attention in the 80's to a lot of music. strange that i missed them.
Never heard of them but I really like!  Of course it is very 80s it was the 80s! Does sound a lot like The Chameleons. 
 kaleb wrote:
For so much of the guitar riffs I kept expecting "Be Good Be Good..." from Men at Work
 
This! BTW where is Men At Work on RP?! That there is good prog rock meets 80's new wave...before Colin Hay was Colin Hay...c'mon Bill give the whole band love and play some "Contraband"
Sounds like high school.
For so much of the guitar riffs I kept expecting "Be Good Be Good..." from Men at Work
Sounds almost exactly like the Chameleons, one of my favorite bands from the '80s. For a minute, I thought it must be a solo project or something. I like it!
this is so 08s